Tuesday, September 4, 2012

President Obama gets his homebrewing on!

Check out President 'Brewrack' Obama's recipes below, too!

Man, I have been receiving a lot of inquiries about this and I am answering the bell with pleasure! Undoubtedly, President Barack Obama has accomplished a lot of "firsts" in American history, but this is one of the feats I am the most proud to boast: He's the first President to make a brew in the White House! Sure, George Washington did it off grounds in Mount Vernon, but no POTUS has been a bigger advocate of the brewing movement since! We're talking about how Obama show suds love when settling controversial riffs (the Beer Summit I covered here), has local pub visits on his itinerary when he travels (see above), and the most significant when it comes to homebrewing, crafting ales on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave! After the Pres snatched up a homebrewing kit last year, there have been three delicious sounding ales that have reportedly been crafted since then. What's really cool is the fact that they collectively boast a common theme: they embrace his staff's infatuation with honey which is also produced within the House's fence on the South Lawn (another first!). Check out this video. Shout out to in-House Beekeeper Charlie Brandt!First up was the nutty White House Honey Brown Ale, followed by their darker, more coffee-ish Honey Porter, and last was the lighter, refreshing Honey Blonde Ale (see below for the latter two's recipes). Now, let's give credit where it's due; it looks like the hands-on brewers were White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass and White House Sous Chef Tafari Campbell, but nothing gets done without the President's thumb's up, so props go to everyone under that roof. I wish I could sip one and see how well they came out, but after peeping this video, I would go out on a limb and say they look official.

Now if there is a thick, smooth, and creamy imperial...errr, presidential stout aged in Kentucky's bourbon barrels or an extravagantly hopped India Pale Ale brewed with solely American hops next, that would be one hell of an addition to the President's beer portfolio. Plus, honey can go with both, so let's make it happen!All in all, no matter what your political views are, we need to toast a cold one to President Obama and his staff, because it's all for the love of beer! Cheers!AleBy the way, here are the recipes in a cool, downloadable format courtesy of the blog for Whitehouse.govhere, but hey, I want to give you as much as possible on this site too, so here you go:

The White
House Honey Ale

Ingredients

2 (3.3 lb) cans light
malt extract

1 lb light dried malt
extract

12 oz crushed amber
crystal malt

8 oz Biscuit Malt

1 lb White House
Honey

1 ½ oz Kent Goldings
Hop Pellets

1 ½ oz Fuggles Hop
pellets

2 tsp gypsum

1 pkg Windsor dry ale
yeast

¾ cup corn sugar for
priming

Brewed with White
House Honey

Directions

1. In an 12 qt. pot,
steep the grains in a hop bag in 1½ gallons of

sterile water at 155
degrees for half an hour. Remove the grains.

2. Add the 2 cans of
the malt extract and the dried extract and bring

to a boil.

3. For the first
flavoring, add the 1½ oz Kent Goldings and 2 tsp. of

gypsum. Boil for 45
minutes.

4. For the second flavoring,
add the ½ oz Fuggles hop pellets at the

last minute of the
boil.

5. Add the honey and
boil for 5 more minutes.

6. Add 2 gallons
chilled sterile water into the primary fermenter and

add the hot wort into
it. Top with more water to total 5 gallons.

There is no need to
strain.

7. Pitch yeast when
wort temperature is between 70-80°.

Fill airlock halfway
with water.

8. Ferment at 68-72°
for about seven days.

9. Rack to a
secondary fermenter after five days and ferment for

14 more days.

10. To bottle, dissolve
the corn sugar into 2 pints of boiling water for

15 minutes. Pour the
mixture into an empty bottling bucket.

Siphon the beer from
the fermenter over it. Distribute priming

sugar evenly. Siphon
into bottles and cap. Let sit for 2 to 3

weeks at 75°.

The White
House Honey Porter

Ingredients

2 (3.3 lb) cans light unhopped malt extract

¾ lb Munich Malt (cracked)

1 lb crystal 20 malt (cracked)

6 oz black malt (cracked)

3 oz chocolate malt (cracked)

1 lb White House Honey

10 HBUs bittering hops

½ oz Hallertaur Aroma hops

1 pkg Nottingham dry yeast

¾ cup corn sugar for bottling

Directions

1. In a 6 qt. pot, add
grains to 2.25 qts of 168° water. Mix well to

bring temp down to
155°. Steep on stovetop at 155° for 45

minutes. Meanwhile,
bring 2 gallons of water to 165° in a 12 qt. pot.

Place strainer over,
then pour and spoon all the grains and liquid

in. Rinse with 2
gallons of 165° water. Let liquid drain through.

Discard the grains
and bring the liquid to a boil. Set aside.

2. Add the 2 cans of
malt extract and honey into the pot. Stir well.

3. Boil for an hour.
Add half of the bittering hops at the 15 minute

mark, the other half
at 30 minute mark, then the aroma hops at the

60 minute mark.

4. Set aside and let
stand for 15 minutes.

5. Place 2 gallons of
chilled water into the primary fermenter and add

About Me

Originally from New York and a Cornell University alumnus, I'm anentrepreneur, award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and beer expert who has worked with various publications and websites for the past 15 years, including FirstWeFeast.com, Ebony, Jezebel, Upscale, JET, Men's Book, WHERE Magazine and Atlanta Eats TV to name a few. I also specialize in celebrity profiles, lifestyle features, travel destinations, automobiles, dining, product reviews, sports, and numerous other topics. On the beer side, there's this cool site, my own beer show on the Web—Cruisin’ For A Brewsin’—beer events I host, judge various beer contests, and produce art productions throughout Atlanta via my creative agency AllWays Open Creative.